Nunavut gov't position has been vacant since Nov. 2020
Thousands of traditional place names that have been used for generations in Nunavut won't become territorially official any time soon because the key government position that determines them — the toponymist — is still vacant after more than a year.
The toponymist accepts submissions and works with organizations and others, including elders and IHT, to help determine official place names. Place names include geographical features, such as rivers and mountains.
4,000 names haven't been submitted yet
After consulting with community members, elders, and others, IHT sends submissions that include hundreds of place names for each community. The submission for the Iqaluit area contains about 600 names.
That submission and others, totalling about 4,000 names, haven't been sent yet because there's no toponymist to send them to, Peplinski said.
While they would still need to be approved afterward, she said, based on her experience, that process would mainly be a formality; she expects 99 per cent of the names to be approved, and the toponymist might ask for clarification on some.
The Nunavut government didn't make anyone available for an interview.
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